Earthquake in Venezuela: A school may not open in September.
On June 24, two powerful earthquakes struck northern Venezuela, causing widespread destruction and a death toll that continues to rise.
There are nine La Salle schools in Venezuela, serving students from primary through secondary education. Five of them are located in the areas affected by the earthquakes. Four sustained non-structural damage and immediately opened their doors to families who had lost everything. Across our communities alone, more than 70 families found shelter in our schools.
The most critical situation is at La Salle Colina School in Caracas. The building suffered severe structural damage and, without urgent repairs, it will not be able to reopen in September.
Meanwhile, together with UNICEF, our local partner CECODAP continues to provide socio-educational support to children and their families in schools and temporary shelters.
Today, our commitment is twofold: to support the essential psychosocial care being provided to children and young people affected by this disaster, and to ensure that La Salle Colina School can reopen for the start of the new school year.
Lasallian Emergency Fund
Wars, floods, earthquakes, cyclones, epidemics, and conflicts have, in recent years, become distressingly frequent occurrences in our daily lives. This surge in humanitarian crises compels us to respond urgently with emergency appeals, highlighting the pressing need for intervention and support.
We have faced the challenges of the most serious humanitarian emergencies on our planet, offering relief to affected communities and working to help them rebuild their daily lives.
Even in humanitarian emergencies, our mission remains steadfast: to ensure access to education and prevent children and youth, already in a very vulnerable position, from seeing their futures put on hold.
In times of crisis, the risk of educational pathways being disrupted is particularly high, but we are actively working to prevent this from happening. Every effort is geared toward preserving the basic right to school, providing young people with tools to face challenges and build a better future.
Cyclone in Madagascar
In the schools of Toamasina, Madagascar, reconstruction work is underway on the buildings damaged by Cyclone Gézani. As soon as the work is completed, you will be able to download the final project report in this section.
Brazil Flood Crisis.
In collaboration with our partner Fundação La Salle Brasil and the Lasallian educational communities in Rio Grande do Sul, we provided shelter, hot meals, and assistance to 1,600 people during the May 2024 flood and helped 195 people return safely to their homes.
Earthquake in Turkey and Syria
We helped the affected people by sending humanitarian aid and distributing hot meals. Afterwards, we sent containers equipped as classrooms to ensure that children and youth could continue to go to school.
War in Ukraine
After the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, we sent humanitarian aid, opened reception centers, and welcomed hundreds of students into our schools.
Explosion at the port of Beirut
On August 4, 2020, a devastating explosion ravaged downtown Beirut, damaging our three schools in the city.
Find out how we were able to rebuild them and assist the most affected families!
